For most of the Seventies, the singer-songwriter sound embodied by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Carole King and Crosby, Stills and Nash dominated the charts and the radio, luring thousands of bell-bottomed fans to concert halls. Those acts – as well as Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt and many more – relied on a small, rarified group of backup musicians to shape that tight, gently rocking sound. Anyone who geeked out on liner notes back then will recognize the most prominent names: guitarist Danny Kortchmar, drummer Russell Kunkel, bassist Leland Sklar and keyboardist Craig Doerge – known collectively as “the Section” – plus Waddy Wachtel and stringed-instrument wizard David Lindley.
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